Friday, March 5, 2010

OATMEAL COCONUT COOKIES

According to the reactions I get at home or from friends when I bake "Oatmeal Cookies", I have come to the conclusion that it is one of the most appreciated cookies alongside the famous "Chocolate Chip Cookies"...

Cookbooks devoted to cookies mostly offer more than one recipe and on the net, it's popularity is never fading. Regularly, while surfing from one blog to another, I always see that treat under the spotlight. Foodies blog about "Oatmeal Cookies" again and again.

I generally bake "Oatmeal Cookies" when I want a healthier fuss-free treat to nibble on in front of a series or to offer to friends who care about their diet (or not). It is the ideal treat for people of all ages. Those cookies are seriously addictive as they seem to act like crack on everybody who takes a bite from them. Ask my friend Corinnne. Her son went through the whole packet I gave her in less than 24 hours LOL!

While flipping through "The Good Cookie" coobook, looking for a cookie that I could give to my friend Corinne, Tish Boyle's "Oatmeal Coconut Cookies" (in the book "Oatmeal Raisin Cookies", p66) recipe caught my eye. That combination of rolled oats, dried fruits (in her recipe raisins, my version contains dried cranberries), nuts (in her recipe pecans, my version contains walnuts) and cinnamon (I added nutmeg and cloves) really seemed perfect. I had to test them.

My slighty boosted version worked out well and those "Oatmeal Coconut Cookies" tasted even better than I had imagined. How can one resist a cookie which is sweet, fruity, nutty, chewy on the inside and crunchy on the outside? My guess is, NOBODY!

Do try those "Oatmeal Coconut Cookies" at home and spread them around you. You'll see, your friends, family, co-workers and neighbors will come running for more and will love you for that. I guarantee that you'll your get new fans and make new friends thanks to them...

Method:1. Preheat oven to 190° C (375° F). Grease or line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Stir in oatmeal. Set the dry ingredients aside.3. In the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed, cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract.5. On low speed, add flour-oatmeal mixture and mix until just blended. Add coconut, walnuts as well as cranberries and mix until just combined.6. Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto your prepared cookies sheets, spacing them about 2 inches (4cm) apart. Flatten the mounds of dough slightly.7. Bake until golden brown, about 12-14 minutes.8. Cool cookies on sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Remarks:You can replace the walnuts by any other nut (as long as you roast them) and you can replace the unsweetened grated coconut by sweetened coconut flakes (original recipe).If you don't want to use cranberries, then use raisins instead.

Serving suggestion:Serve those cookies together with a good cup of tea, coffee or a glass of ice cold milk.

Those cookies really do look yummy, Rosa. I've been thinking about making chocolate chip cookies for a few days now. Perhaps, I will give your adapted recipe a try. I too love the addition of coconut and dried cranberries. Thank you so much for sharing...

They are perfection! I love that your oatmeal cookies are not flat or crunchy. Oatmeal cookies should be chewy and soft without being rubbery. I can't wait to try your recipe. In fact, my husband was just asking me for some baked sugary snacks -- I'm going to make these.

I just baked a batch of these amazing cookies, so delicious, still hot, but i have to taste.. I got 30 cookies, maybe i cut them big, I used an ice cream scoop. Oh well this way My husband will get only one in his lunch box

OMG hahah what a co-incidence of ingredients ! I've just made a coconut n cranberry cake that I'm soon going to blog ... hehe but cookies are even more brilliant. I've never made oatmeal cookies, but now i cannot resist going for it.

I really love a good oatmeal cookie, even more than chocolate chip. So delicious (and almost healthy)! I often experiment with different dried fruits and nuts too. Try these sometime with dried apricots, coconut and macadamia nuts and you'll have "Tropical" oatmeal cookies! :)